Duane Varan – CEO, MediaScience
Member Only AccessBarb Murrer – VP of Global Marketplace Insights, Levi Strauss & Co. MODERATOR
Member Only AccessLyndsey Albertson – VP, Measurement & Impact, NBCUniversal
Nicole Pegg – VP, Ad Experience & Ad Product Strategy, NBCUniversal
Key Takeaways
Kristin Carrillo – Senior Manager, Consumer Insights, Del Monte Foods
James Forr – Head of Insights, Olson Zaltman Associates
Joseph Plummer – Advisor, Olson Zaltman Associates
Member Only Access
Adam Sheridan – Director, Ipsos
Key Takeaways
Jon Watts – Managing Director, CIMM MODERATOR
Key Takeaways
There was some disagreement among the panelists about the prospects for an attention currency. Marc saw it as an “obvious next step.” Mike regarded attention as more of a buy-side “trading tool.” Jon said that it will become a key planning metric for Havas.
Variety’s event featured experts from diverse backgrounds who agreed on the need to better understand today’s viewers and to innovate content and advertising to meet their needs.
Here is a summary of key takeaways:
1 Consumers are embracing new viewing technologies, but also want simplicity: While they are increasingly adopting new viewing options and the multitude of choices they provide, research shows that viewers don’t want to work hard to find and access content.
2 New viewing technologies GENERATE new gatekeepers: Streaming services and set manufacturers are now major factors – not only regarding content, but also advertising.
3 We need to “re-think” advertising: As new media emerge, old formats (such as pods with many 30- and 15-second ads) are not enough to gain viewers attention. We must focus on innovating ad formats and creative in order to re-gain viewers' attention.
5 Managing ad frequency remains a challenge: Research consistently shows that viewers are annoyed by seeing identical ads multiple times. To address that problem, we need more data sets & measurement to determine how many times a viewer sees an ad to remedy the issue. (ARF CEO and President, Scott McDonald, made the same point in a recent statement).
5 Increased diversity is a must: “More diversity” should not be regarded as a woke slogan, but a business imperative. Offering diverse content is essential to reaching all viewer segments.
6 We also need content diversity: Viewers watch TV in different ways – sometimes they are leaning forward, sometimes they are leaning back. We should offer content for all viewing behaviors.
Source: Variety Streaming Room (Presented by Vizio). (2021, September 9). A Moving Target – Understanding Today’s Evolving TV Audience. Variety.